Dogs of the Arroyo

If you live within a five-mile radius of the south Arroyo Seco and you don’t walk there regularly, shame on you. And if you have a dog, double dog shame on you. It is green and gold and shady, with streams and red-tailed hawks and jackrabbits. There’s room enough for joggers and equestrians and dog-walkers, and as long as the off-leash people respect the needs of the on-leash people and leash up when necessary, everyone gets along beautifully.

Here’s a thought, City of Pasadena: PLEASE make the Arroyo a dog park on weekdays! It’s already an unofficial one, with 80% of dogs off leash during the week (weekends are more uptight). Maybe the west side of the river could be off-leash, and the east side on leash, so everyone has a place to romp comfortably. It’s just torture for a red-blooded dog to not be able to run and play and chase critters in such a place. And we upstanding residents don’t like to be lawbreakers, even though we are.

Here’s a recent collection of photos of our dog friends in the Arroyo. Coming up next: Dogs of the Rose Bowl.

I love the website, and hate to be a curmudgeon, but I’m in total disagreement with this post.

I have two boys, age 2 and 4, and I feel uncomfortable allowing them ‘off leash’ in the Arroyo due to the many off-leash dogs. I don’t feel safe having dogs bounding up to them. I can imagine dog owners would argue that their dog, and most dogs, are no threat, and have responsible owners. But clearly not all owners are responsible (evidenced by all the poop, which is another issue). Adults might feel less cavalier if there were animals running around that were our height, with teeth.

where it clearly states that the Arroyo is not an off leash park. A de-facto off-leash zone effectively prohibits others from using that area. It’s fine to lobby for another off-leash area that is contained. But it’s irresponsible to encourage ignoring the leash laws with a nod and a wink.

Good points, B Moision — I especially hear you about small children. Maybe the solution is to allow dogs off leash only north of the Casting Pond parking lot, so everything from the parking lot through the Casting Pond and the archery range and down to the stables is on-leash, because families with young children like to go near the water.

I will say that my friends and I are careful and respectful and put our dogs back on leash (they come when called, pretty much) when there are small children, nervous-looking people or touchy dogs on leash. But you’re right, that doesn’t mean it’s okay.

I was just in the Arroyo yesterday, where Boz and I enjoyed a walk with Zeke and Kimmie, whom we’d just met. It’s friendly and lovely there.

I do think we need another off-leash area, but I also get B. Moision’s point.

I also noticed a lot of poo of the dog variety. I think if we want our dogs to be allowed in nice parks, we’d better be picking up the poo or pretty soon they’re not going to let us bring the poopers anymore. We need to be more responsible.

A location dedicated to dogs off leash would be fine, because we have a big problem with dogs on the arroyo. I’ve been charged twice by off-leash, growling dogs when I was jogging, then I have to deal with indignant owners after I scold them.